Virtual Personal Account Number Segmentation for Secure Payments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current electronic payment processing systems face security issues, lack consumer identification mechanisms, and do not effectively integrate with merchant award programs or offer systems, making it difficult to manage transactions and provide targeted offers to consumers.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing virtual personal account numbers (VPANs) that combine a merchant code and a checkout code to process transactions securely, allowing merchants to target offers to consumers and track purchases, while providing a secure and efficient method for payment processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional payment cards with magnetic stripes are used, then payment transactions can be processed, but security vulnerabilities and lack of consumer identification mechanisms exist
Solution Approach 1:
The payment card number is segmented into two parts: a prefix portion provided to the merchant and a suffix portion provided to the consumer. This segmentation enhances security by ensuring that neither party possesses the complete card number, thereby preventing fraudulent transactions while maintaining system simplicity.
2Loss of information
If payment cards are used for transactions, then payments can be processed, but consumer identification and tracking capabilities are lacking
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides feedback mechanisms by enabling merchants to identify and track consumers through the segmented card number system. The prefix-suffix structure allows merchants to recognize returning customers and implement loyalty programs without complicating the transaction process, as the identification occurs automatically through the card number structure.
3Adaptability or versatility
If merchants want to target offers to specific consumers, then marketing effectiveness improves, but system complexity and data management burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The segmented card number structure (prefix-suffix) enables natural segmentation of consumer data by merchant. This allows merchants to easily identify and target specific consumers with offers based on their transaction history, while the data management remains simple because the segmentation is already built into the payment system infrastructure.
4Reliability
If complete payment card numbers are stored by merchants, then transactions can be processed, but security risks and fraud vulnerability increase
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the payment card number into prefix (merchant-held) and suffix (consumer-held) portions, the system prevents fraud because neither party has access to the complete card number. This segmentation maintains payment information completeness for transaction processing while significantly reducing security risks and fraud vulnerability.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for combining a payment mechanism with an offer to a consumer is described. The system includes a virtual payment account number generation engine to generate virtual payment account numbers that can be used by a consumer in a payment transaction at a merchant, the virtual payment account number generation service also operable to take a portion of the virtual payment account number and send it as a checkout code to a consumer using the consumer's mobile device, and an offer generation engine used to set rules for an offer to be sent to consumers, create a fund for the offer, and determine individual consumer's eligibility for the offer. The offer is associated with the checkout code such that the offer is processed as part of the payment during the payment transaction using the virtual payment account number.